


the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

by bloomsoftly



Series: K I S S I N G [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Mutual Pining, One Shot Collection, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-08-02
Packaged: 2018-12-04 09:02:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11551926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloomsoftly/pseuds/bloomsoftly
Summary: a collection of wintershock ficlets based on kissing prompts from Tumblr.Chapter 1: Darcy distracts Bucky with a kiss. It works a little better than she bargained for.Chapter 2: Bucky and Darcy are interrupted right before their first kiss. He can't think about anything else.Chapter 3: Darcy never gives Bucky the casual gestures of affection she gives his teammates, and he starts to wonder what he did wrong.





	1. distracting kisses (#19)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Queenspuppet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenspuppet/gifts), [SheSegWin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheSegWin/gifts).



> title is from 'I carry your heart with me' by e. e. cummings

“Oh, shit,” Darcy muttered, backing away with her hands up. She definitely had _not_ thought this one through. On the plus side, her diversion tactic had given Clint time to flee. On the other hand, Bucky-formerly-Winter-Soldier-Barnes was stalking toward her with a singular focus. He should look ridiculous with her red lipstick still smeared across his mouth, but instead he just looked hot.

Forgetting the old adage about not turning your back on a predator, she turned and fled. Clint totally owed her for this, the stupid prankster. She wouldn’t have gotten involved at all, if he hadn’t called in some random debt. Plus, she’d gotten to kiss Bucky, if only briefly.

Why she’d tried to outrun him, she had no idea. He caught up to her as she reached the hallway, seizing her shoulder and spinning her around. Before she could catch her breath, he moved in close, pinning her between his lean body and the wall.

“If you’re gonna kiss me, doll,” he growled, “do it ‘cause you want to, not for somebody else.” His rough words were belied by a hint of vulnerability and hurt that shone in his gaze, and by the gentle hand at the back of her head that protected her from banging against the hard wall.

“Oh,” she breathed, and leaned forward to capture his lips with hers. She hadn’t known he felt that way, or she would’ve done this weeks ago. Bucky was a hard one to crack, and she hadn’t wanted to make him uncomfortable. But if he was uncomfortable now, it was definitely the good kind, based on the way he hiked her leg over his hip and dove into the kiss with abandon. Their lips and tongues slid against each other in a heated dance, until her chest was tight from the lack of air. She didn’t care. If Darcy lived her whole life stuck in this moment, she’d be just fine.

“What do you say we take this somewhere a little more private, Darce?” he asked, sucking her lower lip between his teeth.

“Yes, please! Y’all are disgusting—ow, Nat! What? They are.”

Darcy, never looking away from Bucky, nodded eagerly. His returning grin brightened his whole face, and she decided then and there she’d do anything to see it again. While she was distracted, he lifted her straight off her feet and strode toward his apartment. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his hips and held on for dear life. He grinned and jostled her a little, moving his hands around to grip her ass. She rocked against him slowly, eliciting a filthy groan that made her thighs clench harder around his waist.

Maybe, she thought fuzzily, she was the one who owed Clint. The door clicked behind them, Bucky leaned down for another soul-searing kiss, and Darcy forgot about the other man altogether.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would like for me to add to this collection, you can [submit a kiss prompt](https://bloomsoftly.tumblr.com/post/163069167444/fictional-kiss-prompts) on my [tumblr](bloomsoftly.tumblr.com/ask).


	2. staring at each other's mouths (#10)

Darcy was talking, something about the Terrible Trio’s latest science binge, but Bucky couldn’t hear her. He loved it when she talked science to him, he really did. It brought back the past, and suddenly he was the 1940s nerd who was crazy about flying cars all over again. And she had this way of engaging him, with expansive gestures and snarky witticisms, and a wide grin that was painted a sinful red.

But he couldn’t hear her right now. That smile—the one that drew him in and made him feel comfortable asking questions after so many years of keeping his thoughts to himself—was too distracting. All he could think about was her lips on his, about how they’d been a hair’s breadth away from sharing their first kiss in this very spot only a day before. Only to be interrupted by Jane, who’d stormed in obliviously and shattered the atmosphere.

Bucky had been so close to tasting her, to expressing all the feelings he’d been afraid of putting into words, only to have the opportunity ripped away. He’d been vibrating with tension ever since. Even though he knew he was being obvious, he couldn’t stop. And when she bit her lower lip and paused, his breath caught in his lungs. He couldn’t breathe.

A gentle hand came up to rest on his shoulder, and he forced himself to look away from her mouth. Her eyes were twinkling behind her glasses, and a knowing smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Everything okay, Buck?” she asked mischievously. The little minx knew exactly what she was doing to him, and loving every second of it. It was okay; he was enjoying it, too.

He cleared his throat, trying to force his brain to start working again. She had a way of making him lose his train of thought. “Yeah, doll,” he croaked, offering a weak smile, wondering if and how to recreate the moment from yesterday. It was all he could think about. He was so gone, and a fool, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

She saw it in his eyes, like always. Her smile morphed into something tender, something sweet, and she set her paper aside. “You know,” she said, backing up to sit on her desk and looking up at him expectantly, “Jane’s over in Tony’s lab. She’ll be there for at least another hour.”

Involuntarily, his gaze dropped back to her mouth. “Is that right?” he asked hoarsely, stepping between her legs.

She reached for him. “Bucky, please don’t make me beg,” she whispered, drawing him in with her eyes and her lips and her arms around his waist.

It was his turn to grin. “Never, Darce.” He leaned in close, until they were breathing the same air. With a wink, he added, “At least, not unless that’s somethin’ you’re into.”

Huffing, she reached up and pulled his mouth down to hers. He savored the chasteness of it for a long moment, memorizing the way her lips molded to his. Slowly—carefully—he teased his tongue against her lips. On a sigh, she opened her mouth for him. His hands came up to slide through her hair, caressing and stroking and holding her to him, as he explored her mouth with an unhurried sense of wonder. It was everything he’d dreamed of (and he wasn’t ashamed to say that he’d dreamed of this moment _a lot_ ), and he lost himself in the kiss.

Neither of them noticed the arrival of Jane sometime later, who took one look at them and grinned in satisfaction. As silently as she’d entered, she left, locking the door behind her. She had a strong suspicion that Barnes would _not_ appreciate it if Tony came in and ruined the moment.


	3. top of the head kisses (#20)

“Does Darcy not like me?” he finally asked.

His friend stared at him in confusion, his spoon full of oatmeal halting in midair. Steve froze with it halfway to his mouth, and normally Bucky would’ve laughed at him for the silly picture he made. But instead he was too busy analyzing every single interaction he’d had with the woman in question, trying to figure out what he’d done wrong.

“What?” Steve said, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to follow Bucky’s train of thought. Bucky said nothing, staring off into the distance. Tracking Bucky’s line of sight to the dining room, Steve watched his best friend as he observed Darcy, who was laughing at something Clint said.

As they watched, she stood up and picked up her empty bowl. Brushing an affectionate kiss to the top of the archer’s head, then to Natalia’s, she headed toward the kitchen. “That,” Bucky muttered, referring to her casual affection with the rest of the team. Steve stared at him like he was crazy, but held his tongue as Darcy walked into the kitchen.

“Hey guys,” she greeted cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that they’d been talking about her only moments before. She moved between them to rinse her bowl and drop it in the dishwasher. Bucky moved out of her way, shifting so that his metal arm wasn’t directly in her line of sight. He could feel Steve’s eyes on him, but all he could look at was her.

Darcy hummed to herself as she worked, then stepped back with a flourish. Steve handed her a thermos that was resting on the counter—it featured a cartoonish depiction of the Milky Way, and clearly belonged to her. “Thanks, Steve!” she chirped, ruffling his hair as she snagged it from his hand. He had to bend down to accommodate the gesture, but Bucky noted grumpily that their movements had a strange sort of grace and rhythm. This was clearly not the first time she’d done it.

She turned to Bucky next, with a genuine smile that lit up her entire face. He smiled back somewhat shyly, helpless as always in the face of her happiness. For a moment he allowed himself to hope that she’d reach out to him, too, show him some sort of special form of affection. But she didn’t. Instead, she stopped several feet away and offered an awkward hug. “See you around, Bucky!” And then she was gone.

He turned to Steve after she’d left, cocking an eyebrow as if to say, ‘ _See?_ ’ Much to his frustration, his friend just laughed in his face. “C’mon, Buck. You really don’t see what’s happening here?”

Clearly, he shouldn’t have said anything at all. Bucky stormed out of the kitchen to the echo of Steve’s laughter, cursing his sudden inability to read people.

“Wait. Buck!” his friend called out after him, seeming to realize he’d made a mistake. But Bucky didn’t stop. He felt too much like a fool.

 

* * *

 

As much as he tried to forget about it and move on, Darcy seemed to be everywhere. She was ruffling Tony or Steve’s hair—his best friend stared at him in concern every time—or laid kisses on Natalia’s head, or Clint’s. All of his teammates seemed to take the gestures as their due; even the newest recruits, the Maximoff twins, were gifted with light, affectionate touches.

Bucky got nothing. Not that he felt he was owed anything—if she wasn’t comfortable around him, then she wasn’t comfortable. He didn’t blame her. But he couldn’t figure out what he’d done wrong. It hurt, thinking that perhaps she just couldn’t be around him. Knowing who he was, what he’d done. And it wasn’t Darcy’s fault that she was all he thought about.

But he couldn’t stand to be around her, to watch the way she was able to relax around everyone but him. So, he started to avoid her.

 

* * *

 

“Hi,” she greeted quietly, straightening from the wall she’d been leaning against as she waited for him to finish his workout. He’d known she was there, of course. For a moment he’d considered cutting his workout short to leave, but she clearly wanted to talk to him. And while Bucky wanted to protect himself, he didn’t want to hurt her.

“Hi.” Wiping the sweat off his brow, he waited for her to speak.

“Umm, sorry, but—can you put a shirt on?” she blurted, averting her eyes from his chest. He winced, realizing that his scars must be disturbing her, and hurried to pull his shirt over his head. “Thanks,” she babbled, “It’s just that you’re so—distracting.” She waved a hand vaguely at his abdomen, and he froze. What?

She waited for him to finish the motion before turning back to face him. With an earnest look, she cut straight to the chase. “Did I do something to upset you?”

That was…not what he was expecting at all. “No?” he said, cursing the way it sounded like a question.

“It’s just—I thought we were friends, Bucky. But I know you’ve been avoiding me.” She stared him down, daring him to contradict her. He didn’t.

“You never touch me,” he said, then winced. Her eyes grew round and surprised behind her glasses, and he hastened to clarify, “Not like that! But you—you kiss Natalia and Clint and Wanda and Pietro on the head, and you ruffle Steve’s hair. You even show Tony affection, and he hates being touched.”

He was breathing heavily, and he couldn’t even pretend it was because of the workout. She kept staring at him, and he realized how whiny he sounded. “I don’t—” he cut himself off, pinching the bridge of his nose.

A soft hand against his metal arm stopped him from saying anything else. Another hand followed, stroking along his flesh arm from bicep to wrist. She tangled their fingers together slowly, allowing him to pull away if he wished. Bucky had no intention of doing any such thing, and he gripped her hand tightly in his.

“I thought you didn’t want to be touched,” she told him. “And I couldn’t bear to hurt you. Not you, Bucky. Never you.”

 _Oh_. He’d been a total dumbass. Steve had been right to laugh. “All I’ve been wantin’ is for you to touch me, doll.” Bucky tugged on the hand tangled with hers, drawing her closer. She was laughing but willing, and her eyes fell to his mouth.

When her lips touched his, he realized it had been worth the wait.


End file.
